The Incomparable

We take on one of our favorite movies, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” while also acknowledging the flaws that make it all the more lovable. Topics include: How Genesis is the galaxy’s worst Kickstarter project; Why it’s always important to count the planets, especially at Ceti Alpha; The size of the Botany Bay library and why it makes Khan so mad at Kirk; Why Scott’s email is more secure than the Reliant; The real name of Khan’s right-hand man; and how Spock’s death solves Kirk’s mid-life crisis. Also, we scientifically prove that “Wrath of Khan” is better than Star Wars.

FLASH! A bonus (unedited) episode, in which we react quickly to the premiere episode of this season of Doctor Who, “Asylum of the Daleks.” Plus: The Incomparable won an award! For podcasting! We react quickly to the announcement of the Hugo Awards. And we do many, many Dalek impressions.

Our Book Club reconvenes to discuss Jo Walton’s Small Change trilogy of novels, “Farthing,” “Ha’Penny,” and “Half a Crown.” (We fire off the spoiler horn before each novel.) These novels explore an alternate-history in which Britain makes peace with Nazi Germany, and focus on a detective who just wants to do his job—but his job keeps changing in increasingly awful ways.

Believe it or not, some of us have managed to breed successfully. Even Steve Lutz. So we talk about what media we provide for our kids. Topics include dealing with the Star Wars prequels, Spongebob Squarepants, how young you need to be to watch “Apocalypse Now” or “The Exorcist,” why “Tron: Legacy” cost Ben dearly, why John became a master weaponsmith in his childhood, Jason’s debates with his son over whether Spider-Man or Batman is better, Lisa’s childhood reading of “The Godfather,” picking video games for your kids, and how your children’s peers will just ruin them anyway.

Our Comic Book Club returns to discuss super-team comics. What makes them work, and what makes them fail? And our primary subject is Top 10, Alan Moore’s other amazing twelve-issue superhero comic series. If you haven’t read it yet, you should!

Pixar takes on princesses with the new film “Brave.” We discuss Pixar’s mother/bear-daughter story, but also the larger issues of female characters in animation and film in general. What’s wrong with the Disney Princesses? Why can’t girls play Belle or Ariel as if they were an action hero, anyway? How does Merida compare with the female protagonists in Miyazaki’s work? Did Pixar change its own fate?

Our Book Club discusses “Redshirts” by John Scalzi. It’s a book that’s far more complex than its elevator-pitch premise would suggest, but did our panel appreciate its winking narrative-within-narrative structure? And more broadly, why are we worried about some of our favorite geek creators turning inward and pandering to the nerd audience?

In our hundredth episode, we take a look at why we do The Incomparable. Can entertainment be appreciated without analysis and criticism? We also discuss how The Incomparable came to be, and pick some of our favorite (and least favorite) moments. Please forgive us for this self-indulgent meta-episode. We promise not to do another one until number 200.

Summer’s here and it’s time to get to the beach with a good sci-fi novel. Our panelists are well read and of exquisite taste, so we’ve got a boatload of suggestions for you. From funny to serious, there’s a book in our list that will hit the spot the next time you’re looking for something to read.

We tackle the works of Jonathan Coulton as our Geek Music Appreciation series continues. Join guest host Lex Friedman as he and our panelists build a JoCo playlist and discuss why Coulton has so much geek appeal. But just because Lex is guest-hosting doesn't mean that Jason Snell won't make a dramatic appearance at the end, so keep listening!

Good news, everyone! We’re here to talk about the animated TV comedy “Futurama.” Join guest host Glenn Fleishman, special guest Andy Ihnatko, and virgin guests Jonathan Seff and Dean Putney as we discuss Bender, Fry, Dr. Zoidberg, and even Morbo.

The 2012 Hugo Award Nominees. Of all the sci-fi novels published in the last year, these are five of them! (And four aren’t actually sci-fi.) But that hasn’t stopped us from reading them and giving you our opinions. Join our book club as we talk about five books and pick our favorites. Plus: Vomit Zombies! A unique novel-sponsorship opportunity for Coca-Cola! Our near-unconditional love of author Jo Walton! And what the locusts are reading this year!

Unfurl your banners, steal some dragons, slap your insolent nephew, and get ready to listen to us discuss the second season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” in this special live session. Plus, John explains the Internet to Jason.

We travel to where geekiness and comedy come together, to discuss our favorite geek TV comedies. From traditional sitcoms to animation to movie commentary, we’ve got you covered. Plus there’s a lot of singing.

Our book club takes a dive into the world of Paolo Bacigalupi, covering his award-winning novel “Ship Breaker” as well as its recently-released follow-up, “The Drowned Cities.” These books are apparently considered YA (or Young Adult) fiction, leading us to discuss what that label means, if anything. We also talk about Bacigalupi’s particular brand of eco-apocalypse, his use of science fiction to make us reconsider what’s going on today in the world, and how to pronounce his name. And of course, we coin a new word: it’s half monster, half mentor, all Scott McNulty.

Avengers assemble! We discuss Joss Whedon’s Marvel movie, which has been a hit with audiences and critics. But some members of our panel don’t agree. How much do expectations factor in to one’s enjoyment of a movie? Has the bar for summer action blockbusters been set too low by the likes of “Transformers 2”? Should every action-adventure movie aspire to be something more? Why is this the first time that the Hulk has been portrayed properly in a film? Grab your cosmic cubes and prepare for 90 minutes of movie-smashing discussion.

From despotic rulers to lethal hummingbirds, it’s time for us to address the cultural phenomenon of “The Hunger Games.” Join us as we discuss the movie and original book, as well as (following carefully placed Spoiler Horns) the other two books in the trilogy. Why do all households in Panem get the Bravo network? Should “1984” be a Little Golden Book? And why does Lisa know which district of Panem is in charge of making lumber? This episode has the odds ever in its favor.

Take off all your clothes and set the lock code on your mobile phone! It’s time for us to discuss the second season of the BBC’s “Sherlock,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. We walk through all three movie-length episodes, starting with the exemplary “Scandal in Belgravia,” moving on to the not-so-exemplary “Hounds of Baskerville,” and concluding with the mind-blowing “Reichenbach Fall.”

We wrap up our six-part series on the classic “Star Wars” movies with the climactic final half of “Return of the Jedi.” We discuss how the Empire is ahead of the rebels every step of the way, question Luke’s choice of forest camouflage, and explain why Ewoks are better unsubtitled. Also, how is Luke’s journey to being a Jedi not like what you see in most action movies? Who is more heroic in the end, Luke or Vader? Why does the Emperor wait so long to show us his lightning fingers? Why are rebel ships equipped with fireworks? And is Endor the name of the moon, or the name of the planet the moon is orbiting, or both?

We tackle the last of the classic “Star Wars” trilogy, “Return of the Jedi.” Why does Jabba the Hutt enjoy avant-garde wall hangings and ’80s dance moves? Isn’t it sad how Boba Fett goes out with a whimper? Are the alien languages in “Star Wars” too fake-sounding? And what’s up with Leia’s metal bikini? (Part 1 of 2.)